Wednesday, January 28, 2015

DON’T LET THE NANO 15 WEIGH YOU DOWN

by Lisa Siefert

Did you participate in the National Novel Writing Month
(NaNoWriMo)? For those of you who are not familiar with it, NaNoWriMo, or as it
is sometimes affectionately referred to: NaNo, is the annual event for writers
everywhere to band together for the month of November and crank out 50,000
words.

For most of us, writing output at that level requires intense
amounts of sacrifice for anything non-writing related. This list of neglected
items could include cooking, laundry, dishes, TV, exercise and even sleep. No
task is too small nor too big to go on the do-it-after-NaNo-list.

For my first NaNo in 2012, I aspired to write like the girl on
the right, surrounded by nutritious, low-calorie fruits and snacks, but I ended
up with something closer to the girl on the left. The NaNo advice gods preached
take-out food and microwavable meals to make it through the month. Another NaNo
guru advocated enlisting the help of family members to take over meal
preparation. Since the only family member in the Siefert apartment other than
myself is Hoppy, my miniature pincher, I interpreted NaNo as the green light I
needed to indulge my every fast food, pizza ordering and take-out desire I had.

The end result was reminiscent of the dreaded Freshman 15. To
be clear, I didn’t gain the entire 15 pounds in one month but over the course
of both November and December. December brought great feelings of pride and
accomplishment from winning NaNoWriMo the month prior so I decided to keep the
party going with more of the same: lots of sitting around with my laptop, tons
of rich, can’t-put-it-down food and little to no sleep. Not only did I feel
productive and prolific, I had the word count to prove it. Unfortunately, I
also had the extra weight, unbuttonable pants and double chin to show for it.

It took me over a year to take off what only took two months
to put on. This is pretty typical of weight gain/loss. If you remember the guy
from Super Size Me who gained 20 pounds from eating McDonald’s every day for an
entire month, he also had to work for over a year to take off the weight. And
that was with the help of his vegan, yoga-loving girlfriend to guide him. It
ain’t easy.

If you too
suffer from the NaNo 15, the NaNo 5 or some positive numbered derivation
thereof, here are some tips to take it off:

2. Surround your writing area with
only fruits + veggies – They pack a lot of nutrients, live enzymes and fiber
creating a fuller feeling of satisfaction and take up space that would
otherwise have been used for chips, crackers or cookies. And “I can’t stop
eating this raw broccoli,” said no one, ever.

3. Invest in access to fun cardio classes – This could be a
gym membership, subscription to streaming fitness videos like the Daily Burn, a
set of Beachbody DVDs or a fitness app on your phone. Make it easy and make it
something you’ll enjoy.

I still love the idea of NaNo but now I’m a reformed NaNo
Rebel. Yes, there’s actually a section in the NaNo forums dedicated to those
who don said moniker. My new mantra is pretty simple: Fitness first, words
second. If I don’t have time to workout and eat right, then I don’t have time
to write.

I’m not as prolific as I was before but I’m also much happier
and healthier. For more fitness based
tips for writers, go to www.fitandwordygirl.com.♥